Icelandic Volcanoes Could Power UK If European Power Grid Succeeds

Britain could one day be powered by volcanoes, if a new plan to tap the power of Iceland's geothermal energy gets off the ground.

Iceland has the potential to generate huge volumes of low-carbon power through its active range of volcanoes.

Now the energy minister Charles Hendry is visiting the country in May to discuss the feasibility of laying thousands of miles of high voltage cable to the country, in order to transfer the energy to the UK.

The 1000-1,5000km cables - the longest in the world by some distance - would form one part of a hugely ambitious project to link the UK to Europe and North Africa to ensure a clean supply of reliable energy for the future.

The UK has always generated the vast majority of its own power, but concerns about the supply of North Sea oil and an ageing nuclear infrastructure have led the government to look overseas for new supplies.